Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Archive for the ‘Family’ Category

“It’s only a flesh wound”

Posted in Family, Random on August 29, 2008| 7 Comments »

My heart began to pound as I pulled my hand away from his head.  I had assumed I was wiping sweat from his hot little head while I tried to calm his sobbing down.  But when I looked at my hand, it was covered with his blood.  In about .2 seconds I went from comforting mom to drill sergeant, barking orders at Max to run ahead and get me a clean washcloth and Zoe to get out of my way as I hurried Pete home to get a better look at the wound.  It was already dark out and the neighbor we were talking to over the chain link fence doesn’t have electricity.

I was in mid-sentence when I heard Pete scream and the little neighbor girl say, “I’m sorry Petey” in a trembling voice.  She had been swinging a dog chain around and caught the side of his head with the collar latch.  I thought he’d have a bruise and maybe a big bump, so I was unprepared for the blood that was gushing down the side of his head all over his shirt, my hand barely slowing the bleeding.  As we rushed home, Zoe kept getting in front of me begging, “I want to see it!  Let me see it!” until I finally yelled at her to shut up and stay out of the way.  (Harsh, I know, but I tripped over her twice and she was so loud that she wasn’t hearing me tell her we needed to move quickly.)  There was so much blood that I couldn’t tell where he was cut, so I stripped his clothes off as fast as I could and put him in the bathtub to run water over him and clean the area.  He screamed because it was too cold, then screamed louder when he saw the water turn red.  He cried and tried to get away from me and got that panicky look in his eyes when I forced him to sit still so I could see his head better.  He cried, “I don’t want to die!”  My heart caught in my throat as I told him he was fine but he needed to sit still for a minute.  Zoe watched our struggle and heard what Pete had yelled and ran crying to her room, worried her brother was going to die.  Then my cell phone began to ring in my pocket and it was Benny’s ringtone.  Max said, “Answer it Mommy!  It’s Popa!”  I yelled, “I can’t Max, I have blood all over my hands.  Answer it and tell him I’ll call him right back!”  Meanwhile Pete was still wailing in the tub while Zoe was freaking out in her room.  AAAAAGGGHHH  Calgon, Take me away!

When I finally got Pete to calm down and the bleeding to stop, I pulled the wash cloth away to see a VERY small cut.  I’m talking 1/2 centimeter at the most.  Wow.  4 year olds bleed a lot! I cleaned him up and we cuddled, so don’t worry…all is well now.  I called Benny back (he laughed at what Pete had said), the kids have had a snack, we read a chapter out of the library book we got today, everyone is tucked in, and we’re all breathing normally again.

Several years ago, Benny bought me a plaque that reads, “Motherhood..it’s not a just a job…it’s an adventure.”  NO KIDDING!!!  Now someone please run a bubble bath for me, and pass me a little blue drink – something coco-nutty – with a mini umbrella in it. 🙂

Read Full Post »

Praying for the Chapman Family

Posted in Family, Growing Faith, Music, Prayer Requests, Promoting Friends, thinking things through on May 22, 2008| 7 Comments »

I’m interrupting my Promoting Friends Week for this special post. Keep entering to win the give aways. We’ll continue with the friends and give aways posts on Monday. I’m going to need a few days. Though I don’t know this family personally, my own pain is too recent and I am grieving with them right now.

Singer/Songwriter Steven Curtis Chapman’s youngest daughter Maria was killed last night. Her brother was backing out of the driveway and didn’t see her. I cannot imagine the horror of this situation and the pain they’re feeling right now. Please pray for their family. His music has been an encouragement to me and my family over the years. It has offered hope, challenge, comfort, wisdom, reminders to love those close to you, and so much more.

Before we were married, Benny and I knew we wanted to adopt someday and we had chosen China as our first adoptive country – before it became one of the biggest focuses of couple seeking international adoption. Several years ago Steven Curtis Chapman was at the Youth Specialties conference we were at and he sang his song When Love Takes You In and showed the video about adoption. It featured his daughter Shaohannah and it made both of us cry. We were so touched by it, and though it seemed to us at the time it was a sign to keep dreaming about our future Chinese daughter, I know now it was about a different kind of adoption.

I think we interpreted those messages and the overflowing compassion in a different way than God may have meant for us. I’m not sure if foreign adoption is still in our future, but I can tell you that we’ve already “adopted” hundreds of children, teens, and adults over our 15 years of marriage. God has placed so many brokenhearted people in our path and used us to show them that “love” and “home” and “family” can be real words in their vocabularies, and I am so grateful. We too have been adopted as sons and daughters into a family bigger than our own. Sometimes we need that reminder. I want to share the video he showed that night and the lyrics for the song. I hear it now and think of our friends on the streets.

I know you’ve heard the stories
But they all sound too good to be true
You’ve heard about a place called home
But there doesn’t seem to be one for you
So one more night you cry yourself to sleep
And drift off to a distant dream

Where love takes you in and everything changes
A miracle starts with the beat of a heart
When love takes you home and says you belong here
The loneliness ends and a new life begins
When love takes you in

And somewhere while you’re sleeping
Someone else is dreaming too
Counting down the days until
They hold you close and say I love you
And like the rain that falls into the sea
In a moment what has been is lost in what will be

When love takes you in everything changes
A miracle starts with the beat of a heart

And this love will never let you go
There is nothing that could ever
cause this love to lose its hold

When love takes you in everything changes
A miracle starts with the beat of a heart
When love takes you home and says you belong here
The loneliness ends and a new life begins
When love takes you in it takes you in for good
When love takes you in

I want to leave you with one more song. His latest hit single, Cinderella, was inspired by Maria and Stevie Joy, his two youngest daughters. I don’t know if God gave him this song for such a time as this, but I do know that God holds every tear we shed and He never abandons us. I cling to this truth for myself as well as the Chapmans and everyone who has grieved the loss of a child. Pray for comfort and joy for this family.

She spins and she sways to whatever song plays,
Without a care in the world.
And I’m sittin’ here wearin’ the weight of the world on my shoulders.
It’s been a long day and there’s still work to do,
She’s pulling at me saying “Dad I need you!
There’s a ball at the castle and I’ve been invited and I need to practice my dancin'”
“Oh please, daddy, please!”

So I will dance with Cinderella
While she is here in my arms
‘Cause I know something the prince never knew
Oh I will dance with Cinderella
I don’t wanna miss even one song,
Cuz all to soon the clock will strike midnight
And she’ll be gone

She says he’s a nice guy and I’d be impressed
She wants to know if I’d approve of a dress
She says “Dad, the prom is just one week away,
And I need to practice my dancin'”
“Oh please, daddy, please!”

So I will dance with Cinderella
While she is here in my arms
‘Cause I know something the prince never knew
Ohh-oh ohh-oh, I will dance with Cinderella
I don’t wanna miss even one song,
Cuz all to soon the clock will strike midnight
And she’ll be gone
She will be gone.

Well, she came home today
With a ring on her hand
Just glowin’ and tellin’ us all they had planned
She says “Dad, the wedding’s due six months away
And I need to practice my dancin'”
“Oh please, daddy please!”

So I will dance with Cinderella
While she is here in my arms
‘Cause I know something the prince never knew
Ohh-oh ohh-oh, I will dance with Cinderella
I don’t wanna miss even one song,
(even one song)
Cuz all to soon the clock will strike midnight
And she’ll be gone

Read Full Post »

Mourning through Mother’s Day

Posted in Family, Growing Faith, Joy in the Journey, Learning to Cope, thinking things through, Uncategorized on May 11, 2008| 5 Comments »

I was at dinner with the Captivating women last night when my family walked in the restaurant with a dozen roses, a box of chocolates, and a mylar balloon that said “Happy Mother’s Day Eve Eve” on it. Benny had added the “Eve, Eve” part. 🙂 I was really surprised and I loved it. It was totally unexpected. I have a wonderful family and I’m glad they appreciate me. It was a wonderful gift and you should have seen the three pairs of shining eyes and beaming grins directed at me as my kiddos presented me with my gifts. It was precious.

I know today is supposed to be a joyous occasion. I usually have visions of children bringing me breakfast in bed and stopping off for a cup of chai on my way to church. I imagine myself having a nice lazy lunch with my family followed by a relaxing afternoon of reading magazines and watching chick flicks. While that may not be far off from my plans for today, I’m not feeling very festive.

This Mother’s day is so different from the past eight Mother’s Days I’ve enjoyed. Losing our baby back in January has left me more emotional and painfully aware of all of the mothers in the world who are without their children. I’ve had two college friends miscarry since I did. One of them lost her twins this week. She had just created and posted a blog so friends and family could track their growth and progress. Then came the doctor’s appointment with no heartbeats. My heart is aching for her. Remember when I said I had hoped sharing my story would encourage others and let them know they are not alone? Guess who my friend turned to? So something good has come out of my loss and I believe that will continue to happen. On the flip side, one of my other friends just birthed a beautiful baby boy and I am so thrilled for her.

I still have so many unanswered questions. I feel something is missing from me. A friend of a friend, Loretta had a REALLY interesting blog post where she talked about the connection a mother and her unborn child have and how they exchange blood and stem cells and how the baby is physically a part of the mother long after she loses him/her or gives birth. I’ll be posting about that more this week.

Another friend who blogged about Mother’s Day reminded me how painful it was all of those years we didn’t have children. I had to sit through an entire church service that talked about the blessings of motherhood when I couldn’t seem to get pregnant no matter what I tried. It felt like a slap in the face and every May was a dreaded reminder of my seeming infertility. When I finally did get pregnant with Max, Benny presented me with my first Mother’s Day card…in January. 🙂 Love that man!

Mother’s Day is just not one of my favorite holidays. I’m thankful for it, but it’s bittersweet this year. Sorry to be such a downer. I hope all of you that are mothers are blessed by your children and families today. For all of you who are not yet mothers or may never be, either by choice or by circumstance, my hope for you is that God will fill you with peace and love and grant you the deepest desires of your hearts. If this is a painful holiday for you, I wish I could reach out and hug you. I know I have three phone calls to make. I want to express my gratitude to my mom, step-mom, and mother-in-law for pouring what they have into me and my family.

Happy Mother’s Day friends!  And Happy Birthday to my Mother-in-law Margie! 🙂

* Willow Tree Figurines can be found at many nationwide bookstores and at www.demdaco.com

Read Full Post »

Life with Max

Posted in Creativity, Family, Joy in the Journey, Just for fun on March 29, 2008| 10 Comments »

maxs-blue-hair.jpg

My 8 year old son is an amazing kid. I know a lot of parents say that about their offspring, but Max is a wonder kid. He’s compassionate and has a strong sense of justice. He is a leader to the point of bossiness. We’re working on that one. 😉 He is a visionary and a planner. He takes initiative so much that even older kids tend to follow when he leads. He’s bold and confident. He is really good at rallying people to his cause. For example, we’re making plans to close in our patio so we’ll have another room for homeschooling and art. He decided he wants to open a library and art studio in the new addition. He asked me when the project would be completed and I told him that depends on what we can find on Craig’s List, but we’d like to have it done by summer. He chose July 18th and made a sign for his Grand Opening. Then, unbeknown to me, he went to our neighbors to procure signatures as a promise they would become members of his Library/Art Studio. The kid came home with 2 signatures! I didn’t know whether to laugh or be embarrassed, or both.

One day a guy came driving down our street and threw some trash out his window. Max yelled at him and thankfully the guy’s music was so loud he didn’t hear him. Max immediately picked up the trash and he and his friends created “No Littering” signs and picketed in my front yard for awhile. I didn’t make him stop, but I did point out several things to him. 1. It’s not smart or o.k. to yell at adults – especially strangers that you’re accusing of doing something wrong. 2. Not many people drive by our house, and picketing about littering in our mobile home park is probably not going to accomplish much. 3. Picketing in OUR yard when we don’t litter doesn’t make much sense. 4. Picketing itself is a waste of time and there are others ways to combat littering. The irony was that two hours later I had to remind him and his friends to pick the signs up out of the yard and throw them away.

He wants to make a difference in the world and has some excellent ideas about how to do that. He is definitely in a time of his life when he needs some serious direction. Hopefully we’re providing that without squashing his creativity and sense of accomplishment. I felt a little guilty about the littering incident, but my heart was that I wanted to teach him. We don’t need anymore picketers in the world. We need doers. I think he gets it. We’ll see.

So back to the blue hair. I know you’re wondering. 🙂 Way back when I was in high school, I would get so disgusted with parents and other people who would treat a kid badly because he had colored hair. Like that is some indication of a rebellious spirit or a future plagued with juvenile delinquency. I was always a little in awe at the courageousness of those who could pull off green, black, pink, blue, or any other hair color. I was brave, but not that brave. When Benny and I got into youth ministry, the trend with adults condemning colored hair (or funky styles) continued. I swore to him then that hair wouldn’t matter in our family. It’s just hair. It can be cut and it grows back. Choosing your hair style and color is a form of creativity and personal style. Yes, those words have come back to bite me in the bum. lol Max has already been a bleached blond, a red head, and completely bald…all his choice. A few months ago he began asking to color his hair blue. Honestly, I wasn’t thrilled at first. We are part of a homeschooling group and I already feel like our family stretches them. But he said he really wanted to try it and Benny reminded me of MY words regarding hair, so I couldn’t argue too much. Benny took him for a haircut and color – which wasn’t very expensive given the shortness of his hair. The first few days he kept track of how many people commented on liking his hair. He totally ignored the people who had looks of shock, horror, or disapproval on their faces. Random people in WalMart commented both positively and negatively, which still makes me laugh. Why should we care what a total stranger thinks of his blue hair? The real test (in my mind) was our homeschool group. Would they care for his heart? The day after Max’s color job was class picture day at school. I figured there were going to be some homeschool moms hating me. I was home sick that day – I promise it was unrelated to his hair! Benny said there were a lot of teenagers that said they wished their parents would let them color their hair. They kept touching Max’s head telling him how cool he looked and how lucky he is. Many people have asked, “What’s he going to do when he’s a teenager?” I honestly don’t know, but it will be bold, creative and colorful. It will be positive, his idea, and he’ll get other people on board. Such is life with Max.

Stop by Max’s blog sometime. “The Hero Chronicles” can be found at www.maxallennowell.wordpress.com. There’s not much on there yet, but now that the home computer is working well again, he wants to start posting stuff he likes.

Read Full Post »

He is risen

Posted in Family, Joy in the Journey, Uncategorized on March 23, 2008| 4 Comments »

The weather was great and we made it to Buena Vista to see our friends. I enjoyed a cup of chai and two hours of conversation with Linda. I bonded with my in-laws. We came home and Adam came for a visit. We had a wonderful time with all. And now for today…

Happy Easter!

This morning our family, including my friend Heather, visited a church that our new friends Steve and Missy (and their team) planted in Boulder. They are meeting in a high school and they had a pretty good crowd for their first Sunday. What a great day to open the doors of a church for the first time! The music was good. The message was encouraging. The people were friendly. Their was an excited buzz in the air. God was present. I was moved. It will be nice to visit the High Way Community from time to time to encourage our friends and join them in praising God.

We spent the afternoon with the Captivating families minus my dear friends Paula and Jerry. Paula has a killer toothache and isn’t functioning very well, so she was home in bed. 😦 Please pray for her. We all met at Wendy’s house and had a great time eating, laughing, talking, having an Easter egg hunt for the kids and reading an Easter story together. 8 adults and 16 children. It was fantastic. After we prayed together, Wendy said, “He is risen!” and everyone responded with “He is risen indeed”. Everyone except me and Benny. Was this some secret ritual we didn’t know about? We had never heard that before. I guess it’s some sort of liturgical reading and response – something we never did in the C of C. Nobody really knew the exact origin of the phrase. Anyway, it was cool and we joked that they needed to teach us the secret handshake as well. 🙂 It was an afternoon with our extended family and it was refreshing and filling.

captivating-women-002.jpg

This picture was taken last summer at Wendy’s murder mystery birthday party, “Killing for the Crown”. L-R is Me, Wendy, Paula, Abi, and Kristi.

In the Broadway hit, Les Miserables, one of the lead characters sings, “To love another person is to see the face of God”. How true. God has moved, shaped, loved, stretched, comforted, and grown me through the relationships I have with these 4 fabulous women. I am who I am today because of their influence and the road we’ve walked together the past two years. My sisters and friends. I have experienced God in new ways through these women and their families. He is risen alright! He is alive and at work all around me and in me! He is risen indeed!

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »